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Scott Willoughby

Willoughby: Colorado Senate to take its turn at tweaking Bill 1317

By Scott WilloughbyThe Denver Post

Posted:
04/22/2012 01:00:00 AM MDT

The Colorado House of Representatives has had its say about the pending merger of the state's parks and wildlife divisions and the composition of its new board of commissioners. Now the State Senate gets a chance to tinker with House Bill 1317 in an effort to establish balanced representation for Colorado's outdoor enthusiasts.

At halftime, Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, is leading the squabble over the makeup of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission that will be responsible for determining policy for managing the state's wildlife resources along with 42 state parks as of July 1. His HB 1317, co-sponsored in the Senate by Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass, successfully warded off a pair of amendments challenging Sonnenberg's design for the new PWC and passed its third reading on Wednesday.

The lightly modified version approved in the House calls for a commission of 11 voting members appointed by the governor: three representing sportsmen, three agricultural representatives, three that engage in parks-oriented outdoor recreation and two members appointed from the public at large.

Within those subsets, one of the "sportsmen" representatives must be a registered commercial outfitter, and one of the "recreation" representatives must come from a nonprofit organization that promotes primarily non-consumptive wildlife conservation.

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Preference for at-large appointees will go to those with knowledge and experience in outdoor business, youth outdoor education, wildlife biology, energy, conservation, beneficial uses of water, wildlife management or service as a current or former local elected official. At least five voting members will come from west of the Continental Divide, and political parity is required.

The bill is not drastically different from Sonnenberg's original offering that has been criticized by both sportsmen's groups and conservation organizations such as the Colorado Wildlife Federation. Foremost among the complaints is its conspicuously wide stray from the recommendations of the sitting 14-member Parks and Wildlife Commission tasked with designing the new board after dozens of meetings and input from stakeholders statewide.

At least two House members felt strongly enough to attempt restructuring the commission through amendments proposed last week, both of which failed in largely partisan voting.

"In practice, the current outfitter position often aligns with the agricultural seat," said Rep. Matt Jones, D-Louisville, whose amendment attempt was defeated last week. "I do think agriculture should have a strong voice, but I don't think it should have the most strong voice. I think that sportspeople — the hunters and fishers — and parks people — hikers, bikers, campers and boaters — should have the strongest voice, because they're the ones that pay the bulk of the fees and they're the ones being served by the commission."

"We welcome a range of commercial expertise and experience, but the focus of an appointee's service must be what is best for wildlife and parks, not representation of the particular commercial interest," CWF posted in a statement. "We are concerned that if a majority of seats is held by persons whose current profession/occupation involves wildlife only from the vantage point of a commercial interest, that would form the perspective of the individual's decision-making."

Now it's the Senate's turn to offer some perspective.

More legislative updates. Rep. Sonnenberg's more radical proposition — House Bill 1322, co-sponsored by Sen. Scott Renfroe — came to an appropriately early demise in the House Education Committee last week, falling to an 8-5 vote that crossed party lines.

The bill would have required the sale of all federal public lands in Colorado that are suitable for agricultural use — including logging and grazing — by the end of 2014, with a portion of the proceeds placed in a trust to be used for education and water storage projects.

The unconstitutionality of a mandate requiring the U.S. government sell off some 23 million acres of U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management properties notwithstanding, the brazen attempt to privatize public lands critical to Colorado's robust outdoors economy and quality of life demonstrated a severe disconnect between the bill's sponsors and the desires of voters. Everyone who appreciates access to open space should be happy to see this one go.

Antero opening. The wait is nearly over for those champing at the bit to get on Antero Reservoir.

Denver Water announced that the popular South Park fishery will open to trailered boats May 3. The north boat ramp will be open seven days a week, and the south boat ramp will be open Thursdays through Mondays. Only small trailered boats, canoes, bellyboats and other smaller craft can access the south ramp, while any size boat can access the north boat ramp.

Missy Franklin, Jenny Simpson, Adeline Gray and three other Colorado women could be big players at the 2016 Rio OlympicsWhen people ask Missy Franklin for her thoughts about the Summer Olympics that will begin a year from Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, she hangs a warning label on her answer.